EBRD helps Ukrainian city launch biogas production

By European Bank for Reconstruction and Development | February 01, 2016

The West Ukrainian city of Lviv is installing a biogas plant for the generation of heat and power with support from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Nordic Environment Finance Corp. and the Eastern Europe Energy Efficiency and Environment Partnership. The investment is expected to achieve significant energy savings and improve the quality of services.

A joint €27.5 million financing package provided by the three institutions also includes measures by the communal enterprise Lvivvodokanal to rehabilitate and modernize the wastewater treatment infrastructure in the leading regional city.

The project is supported by an EBRD loan of up to €15 million ($16.34 million), a €5 million loan from NEFCO and an investment grant of up to €7.5 million from E5P, to which the European Union is the largest contributor.

The proceeds will be used to significantly improve the efficiency and environmental performance of Lvivvodokanal, the major municipal utility which operates a 1,000-kilometre network of water supply systems and water treatment facilities and provides services to 760,000 residential and industrial users.

The investment program will enable Lvivvodokanal to install a wastewater biogas combined-heat-and-power plant (CHP), which will be able to generate up to 39,400 MWh of electricity annually thus allowing the company to achieve significant energy savings and will also lead to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to approximately 128,600 metric tons of CO2.

Other environmental benefits for the city and the region will be achieved through the installation of grit chambers and a chemical precipitation plant, which are expected to improve overall wastewater treatment in Lviv and reduce the pollution discharged to the Poltva River.

Technical assistance, necessary to accomplish the feasibility study and the environmental due diligence, was provided by the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency.

The EBRD is the largest international financial investor in Ukraine. As of Jan. 1, the bank had a total cumulative commitment of approximately €12 billion in 355 projects throughout the country.